Monday, December 07, 2009
Time keeps on slipping..
Ever wondered why time passes more quickly as you get older?
I reckon a lifetime’s duration is entirely perception. We can only measure a lifetime as a timeframe as the amount of time we have lived. It’s a feeling. Nothing more.
So when you are say, 5 years old, a year feels like.. well, is 20% of a lifetime - a fifth of your life. 20% is big chunk, it feels like a long time. At the time.
But when you are 50 years old a year is only 2% of your 'lifetime' – a tiny part of your lifetime.
And a ‘lifetime’ is a constant. It is what it is. A lifetime. Your lifetime. While the time frame changes, obviously, the perception of the lifetime is a constant at any moment throughout that life.
And 2% of this constant is a lot briefer than 20% of what is, essentially, the same constant.
And that is why time flies faster, as time goes by.
If we lived until 500 years old, a year would feel like a week.
Well, that’s my theory anyway.
And I accept that this may well be a load of old bollocks.
I reckon a lifetime’s duration is entirely perception. We can only measure a lifetime as a timeframe as the amount of time we have lived. It’s a feeling. Nothing more.
So when you are say, 5 years old, a year feels like.. well, is 20% of a lifetime - a fifth of your life. 20% is big chunk, it feels like a long time. At the time.
But when you are 50 years old a year is only 2% of your 'lifetime' – a tiny part of your lifetime.
And a ‘lifetime’ is a constant. It is what it is. A lifetime. Your lifetime. While the time frame changes, obviously, the perception of the lifetime is a constant at any moment throughout that life.
And 2% of this constant is a lot briefer than 20% of what is, essentially, the same constant.
And that is why time flies faster, as time goes by.
If we lived until 500 years old, a year would feel like a week.
Well, that’s my theory anyway.
And I accept that this may well be a load of old bollocks.
